Method of purifying albumen.



"UNITED Status GEORG EICHELBAUM, OF BERLIN, GERMANY.

METHOD OF PURIFYING ALBUlVlEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 662,779, dated November27, 1900. Application filed May 27,1899. Serial No. 718,468. (Nospecimens.)

To all whom it 777/601] concern:

Be it known that I, GEORG EIOHELBAUM, a subject of the German Emperor,residing at Berlin,Charlottenburg, German Empire, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in the Purification of AlbuminousSubstances; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to the preparation of albuminoussubstances; and it consists in a method of purifying products containingalbumen or protein substances in sucha manner that the resultantalbumens are fit for use as articles of diet and for other purposes.

Albuminoid products, both of animal and vegetable origin, are generallyaccompanied by substances having a disagreeable odor and taste whichrender them albumens unfit for consumption. These objectionablesubstances of unpleasant odor and taste are particularly prominent inthose waste products which are obtained in the treatment of meats-e. 9.,such as meat-meal, fish-meal, cadaver-meal, and the like. I have foundthat the malodorous and ill-flavored matters may be effectuallyseparated from such raw material if the same are heated with analcoholic liquor to a temperature above the boiling-point of alcohol andunder pressure, the result of such treatment being that theobjectionable ill-flavored and ill-smelling admixtures are taken up bythe alcohol, While the purified albumen remains undissolved. Afterremoving the alcoholic solution containing the impurities the residualalbumen is in a pure condition and is then ready for use for its variouspurposes. The tempera ture above the boiling-point is obtained byheating the mixture of impure albuminous substance and alcohol underpressure.

The following example embodies the preferred manner of carrying out myinvention: I take a suitable quantity of the albutninous substance to betreated and mix the same with alcohol, preferably of a high degree ofconcentration. This mixture is brought into a vessel permitting theapplication of pressure, such as a digester, and I heat the mixture to atemperature above centigrade, preferably from 100 to 105 centigrade. Theamount of alcohol to be added depends on the nature of the particularmaterial to be treated and on the impurities or foreign matterscontained in the same and may be readily ascertained by tests. After themixture has been maintained at the above temperature for a sufficientperiod of time, to be determined by testing samples of the mixture, thewhole is allowed to cool, and then the alcoholic liquid is separatedfrom the u ndissolved albumen. The further treatment of the purifiedalbumen may proceed according to any of the known methods.

The effect of the above 'alcoholic liquor may be enhanced and thealbumen decolorized coincidently with the removal of the illfiavored andill-smellingimpurities if t-hesame is made to consist not of alcoholalone, but preferably of alcohol in which ammonia or sulfurous acid isdissolved. By this addition not. only a bleaching or decolorization ofthe albumen is obtained, but at the same time a further increase ofpressure without any further increase of temperature is produced, sothat the removal of the aforesaid impurities is effected with greatdespatch and more thoroughly.

The process may be carried out as follows: The raw material (meat-meal,fish, glutens) is saturated with three or four times its weight ofalcohol, which may be saturated with sulfurous acid or ammonia, and isheated in autoclaves or digesters for from five to six hours under apressure of 100 centigrade. The choice of the temperature depends on thematerial chosen and the desired length of the operation, as Well as onthe degree of purification desired. The only condition is that thealcohol be above boilingpoint, so that.- there is a suitable pressure.The cooled treated mass is pressed in a filter and washed with much hotwater and dried. A grayish white or yellow powder is obtained which isentirely tasteless and oderless, which feels gritty on the tongue, andcan be used direct for human or animal food.

WVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The process of purifying vegetable and animal albuminoid substanceswhich consists in heating such substances together with under pressureto a temperature above the an alcoholic liquor containing'a decolorizingboiling-point of alcohol. [0 agent under pressure to a temperature aboveIn testimony whereof I have affixed my sigthe boiling-point of alcohol.nature in presence of two Witnesses.

2. The process of purifying vegetable and GEORG EICHELBAUM. animalalbuminoid substances which 'eon- Witnesses:-

WOLDEMAR HAUPT.

sistsin heating" such substances together With HENRY HASPER, analcoholic liquor containing sulfurous acid

